


Daring to Fall

by Fishykarp



Series: Sleepless in Spades [1]
Category: Sleepless Domain (Webcomic)
Genre: Self-Doubt, the dream
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fishykarp/pseuds/Fishykarp
Summary: I dream of sky.I dream of plains.Five young girls, and their first meetings with a woman in white.
Series: Sleepless in Spades [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934716
Kudos: 5





	1. Freyja

I dream of sky.

An endless expanse of blue and white stretching far over the horizon.

Standing on the edge of the precipice of a cliff. A golden bird up ahead. Beckoning me. Willing me to stretch my own wings and join her.

I look down. Darkness.

I do not have wings. Not like hers. Bright, vibrant, beautiful. Mine are blue. Mine blend in with all the infinite sky. There’s nothing special about me.

If I fly, I will fall, and who knows how many I will lead to falling too? Better to leave the flying to the fliers and stay on the ground.

My eyes snap shut. I know this. I know this dream.

I stumble backwards. My legs give in and I fall onto my back. Onto my wings. My tiny, useless wings. It hurts. It’s a hurt I know all too well.

I open my eyes.

I know this dream. My sister told me about it. Blues skies on the edge of a cliff. She stretched her wings, she flew, and the next thing we all knew she was a Magical Girl.

I’ve known this dream every night since then. It’s the only dream I remember ever having.

I’ve never been brave enough to jump.

I’ve never been brave enough to fall.

The sky above me is calm and still. I don’t think I’ve ever looked directly upward before. I always stayed fixated on the golden bird.

I sit up. Why did I close my eyes? Why did I look away?

The dream changed. The dream isn’t meant to change.

I’m supposed to stare at the bird trying to will myself the courage to join her until I wake and curse myself for not being strong enough.

The bird is gone.

I look frantically around. I stand up peer over the edge of the cliff again. I lean further over the edge of the cliff than I ever have, calling my sister’s name. There is no response. No beckoning.

My heart skips a beat. The bird _can’t_ be gone. My sister _can’t_ be gone. She’s out there somewhere in the infinite blue, she must only have gotten sick of waiting for me.

Still, what if I’m wrong?

What if I’m the only one who can save her?

I gaze over the edge and still my breath. I steel my nerves, and I leap.

</>

My world fades to sky, then to black, then to white. I’m… sitting. Not flying through the air or falling from the sky. Just, sitting.

I feel the weight of my wings still on my back. I haven’t left the dream. Not yet. So where am I? Where is she?

There’s someone else here.

I look up. The world is white. Endless and serene like the sky in my dreams but somehow emptier. More alone. Even if for the first time, I’m not.

The woman in front of me sits on a chair, seated opposite to me at a simple white table. Her hair is long and flowing, and she smiles as if she were an old friend.

“Freyja Avian.” She says. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Where is Demeter?” I demand, standing up from my seat. “What did you do to my sister?”

The woman looks stunned, if only for a moment. Then she smiles again, that same wistful smile.

“Your sister is safe.” She says. “Maybe safer than she’s ever been.”

I… don’t understand.

“She gave her whole heart to protecting the city.” The woman continues. “She has more than earned the right to rest and leave her sacred duty to the next generation.”

“She… aged out of her powers?” I ask. She _is_ almost eighteen, we knew it was coming sooner or later. Still, the idea of her no longer being Sentinel Ace and just being… Demi.

“You know she doesn’t want to stop.” I say, quietly. “She talks about it all the time. If she could spend her whole life protecting the city, she would.”

The woman looks away. “She shouldn’t have to. Nobody deserves risk their lives every night.”

“But what about her team?” I ask. “They still need a leader. Who’s going to keep _them_ safe?”

The woman chuckles. “She asked the same thing, actually. I assured her though that the team would be left in capable hands.”

“Whose? Talia and Mel barely know eachother, and Brie said herself that she didn’t want to lead.”

She looks me in the eyes.

“No.”

I look down.

“I- I can’t replace her. She’s a hero. I’m just me…”

The woman stands up and tries to place a hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off and continue.

“I’m not her. I can’t protect people like she does. If you put me in charge of her team, I’ll probably get them all killed…”

I remember the first time my sister got hurt. A group of monsters had breached the inner barrier, a herd of yak-looking things with giant spiked tails. They were attacking a kid, and she was the only one close enough to stop them.

She later told me that she knew she wasn’t strong enough to stop all of them, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she didn’t try and someone died on her watch.

One of the tailyaks swatted her out of the sky. She broke an arm on the impact. She would’ve died that day if one of her classmates hadn’t come to save her.

Team Sentinel was formed that day, all the news stations called her a hero, but she said that the only thing she cared about was that the kid was ok.

“I’ll do it.” I say. “I’ll be a Magical Girl.”

My sister isn’t like me. She isn’t afraid to fail and fall. I’ve always wished I could be more like her, maybe this is my chance.

“I’m… not sure about leading the team.” I admit. “But I’ll try. Besides, I doubt Demi’s just going to sit on the sidelines. I’ll have her help.”

The woman smiles, sadder this time. “Thank you. I know that it’s a… difficult choice to make.”

I don’t reply. I simply close my eyes, and wait for the dream to end.

I wake up with a sky-blue playing card on the back of my right hand.


	2. Kai

I dream of plains.

Sprawling golden grassland as far as the eye can see, dotted by lone defiant trees.

The sort of open space rarely afforded in the city’s rigid blocks. Freedom. Freedom to run.

Freedom to _be_.

I’ve always enjoyed dreaming. Getting a snapshot into the infinite worlds that my mind creates. Compared to the same old city I’ve spent my every day in, it’s paradise.

This dream though, there’s something different.

They say that every face you see in a dream is somebody you’ve seen while awake. But I am certain that I’ve never met the woman standing before me.

I like to think that I’m good at remembering faces. I know ma and pa, and their mas and pas too. I remember the faces of all the teachers at school, and the nice janitor who lets me in the classrooms at lunch to draw as long as I finish eating outside first.

I remember the faces of everyone living in our little corner of the city. At this point I’ve seen them all while out on one of my runs. That same unchanging gallery. Day, after day, after day.

This… woman in white, though? She’s new.

That excites me.

She’s standing in the shade of a tall, thin tree a fair distance away. Looking at me.

So, I run.

Dreams can end suddenly, after all. I’m not going to waste any time getting to her.

Don’t slow down enjoying the feeling of wild grass under the soles of your shoes. You can get that at any old park.

Don’t slow down marvelling at the bright orange sunrise unimpeded by walls and artificial lights.

~~Don’t slow down wondering if this is _the_ dream. It isn’t. You’re a boring, normal girl. Interesting things don’t happen to you.~~

There’s something behind me.

Something big.

Something _fast_.

So, I run.

Faster. I break into a sprint.

Faster. Whatever’s behind me lets out a deafening roar.

Faster. The running behind me stops suddenly. A chill shoots up my spine.

I duck. In a moment of pure instinct, I tumble to the ground. Something leaps over me, landing far more gracefully than I.

I cough as I stand up, brushing grass off my face and wobbling unsteadily. I finally have a good look at the beast before me.

To say that it’s a monster would be greatly diminishing the creature that stands before me. Glowing bright orange, it stands proud on four legs with a magnificent mane glistening in the sun.

‘ _Lion_.’ A part of me says.

I can’t say exactly where that knowledge came from, but it feels right. Lion.

The lion and I lock eyes, and in an instant, it’s as if we are old friends. As if I understand everything.

“This is your home.” I say. “I’m intrudin’.”

The lion doesn’t react, but I can feel nonetheless that I’m right. I continue.

“It’s beautiful. I bet it gets boring pretty quick though, huh?”

The lion takes a step forward. Tentatively, I do the same.

“Freedom to run. Freedom to think. Not much else.”

I’m within arm’s reach of the lion. I reach out my arm, hoping it doesn’t take that as an offer of a meal.

“You’re like me.”

The lion butts its forehead lightly against my hand. I rub it.

“You’ve been kind enough to let me visit your home, so I’ll show you mine next, yeah?”

I have no clue what I’m offering, or how I could possibly provide that to a creature in a dream. Still, it felt right.

The lion steps back, moving to the side. Moving out of my way.

The woman in white. I glance towards her – she’s still there.

She has a table and two chairs set up, all pure white. She’s seated on one chair, the other invitingly empty.

I look at the lion, then back at the chair. Slowly, I make my way to it, and sit down.

</>

The world immediately goes dark, and I feel the terrible sensation of _falling_. When I come to (is it possible to lose consciousness in a dream?), I find myself sitting still at the table, the woman in white opposite me.

I turn around. The grassland is gone, though the lion still stands a few metres away. Instead, I am in some sort of white void, like a blank canvas. Possibility. Hope.

“Is this... what I think it is?” I ask, directing my question at the woman in white. She nods.

“It is. Kai Lithgow, you have been chosen for an ancient and sacred duty-”

“I’m in.” I say, without hesitation.

The woman’s frowns slightly, appearing disappointed but not surprised. “You must understand the risks…”

“Yeah, yeah, I could take a claw in my back and croak on the spot.” I say. “Worth it if I can stop that from happenin’ to other people. Can’t back out now anyways, seein’ as I’ve promised this wee lil guy I’d show him my home.”

I gesture towards the lion.

“Very well.” The woman says. I can tell that she’s unsure. I don’t mind, she isn’t the first person who’s underestimated me. “Remember to be careful, Ms Lithgow. You won’t remember this meeting, but I hope my warning stays with you. Goodbye.”

“I won’t remember this- hey! You can’t just send me off without explaining that shi-“

The world fades to white.

I wake up with a bright orange playing card on the back of my right hand.


End file.
